1984 B.C. Rich Mockingbird

January 14, 2010

This month we’re featuring an awesome eighties axe: an ’84 Mockingbird. While the company is now best known for its radical electric body shapes, Bernardo Chavez Rico started out in the ‘50s helping his father build ukuleles and banjos. Then, in mid-‘60s he opened his own repair and build shop for classical and flamenco guitars, but by 1969 he had switched over to building electric guitars and basses based on Fender and Gibson designs. Unsatisfied with mimicking what had come before, he set out to create wildly different guitar designs, which spawned the Seagull, Bich, Eagle and Mockingbird.

This Mockingbird Deluxe was hand-built from the days before B.C. Rich began importing some of their instruments. It’s a neck-through design, with a 24-fret mahogany neck, mahogany wings and a maple top. The active electronics for the two DiMarzio pickups yield tonal options galore: two tone knobs, one volume knob, a six-position rotary Vari-tone knob, two coil taps, a phase mini-switch and an onboard preamp switch.

Thanks to Mike Greco of Evil Guitars for listing this guitar on Gear Search. Whether you’re looking for a vintage piece or a modern take on a classic, there’s a great chance you’ll find it at Gear Search. There are more than 57,000 pieces of gear listed, including some of the hardest-to-get gear in the world.